Here’s a shocker: Seattle fans upset, this time at Nate Robinson
Thunder guards Royal Ivey, left, and Nate Robinson cheer on their teammates from the bench during the NBA playoffs.
When roughly 100 fans greeted the Oklahoma City Thunder at a private hanger at Will Rogers World Airport at 3:30 a.m. after Game 4 on Wednesday/Thursday, reserve guard Nate Robinson rifled off a tweet: “OKC aka Thunder fans are the best on the planet.”
Robinson was born and raised in Seattle, loves Seattle, never passes up a chance to brag about Seattle. He excelled at the University of Washington in Seattle. However, Seattle SuperSonics fans took offense at Robinson’s kindness toward Oklahoma City. And if there’s one thing people in Seattle won’t stand for, it’s someone being kind to OKC.
Sonics fans being offended from what happened three years ago has lost all traction. Actually, it never really had any traction. Seattle had an opportunity to keep the Sonics, but elected public officials tabled any talk of a suitable facility being built with the help of taxpayer money in greater Seattle. This gave the city zero chance of keeping the franchise. If Seattle had a new arena, the Sonics would still be there. Pure and simple.
Seattle folks insist OKC stole the Sonics. Around these parts, we consider that a fumble. Seattle fumbled the Sonics. Oklahoma City recovered. Mixed metaphor intended.
Incorrigible Sonics fans are still pouting, whining, bitching about what transpired, and now their fans are taking swings at Robinson.
Robinson has played in just five games since coming to the Thunder from the Boston Celtics as part of the Kendrick Perkins trade on Feb. 24. Despite this limited exposure, Thunder fans quickly have embraced the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Robinson because of his passionate persona on the bench. Robinson has returned that embrace to fans.
Here’s how messed up this Twitter thing is with Robinson: Before Game 7 against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, Robinson was asked if Sonics fans had lightened up any about his tweet. The habitually loquacious Robinson didn’t want to talk about it. The man who never shuts up suddenly went silent. Certain Sonics fans no doubt will take perverse pleasure in that.
Seattle Times sports columnist Jerry Brewer’s thoughts on the subject.
Thunder Knocks Off Kings In Sacramento
Observations from Monday’s 120-112 win over the Sacramento Kings
- This wasn’t exactly how the Thunder wanted to win. But it was significant that the Thunder did win. Thunder coach Scott Brooks wanted to see his team show some mental toughness in the second night of a back-to-back after a big win at L.A. against the Lakers. That’s exactly what OKC did.
- Here’s what Brooks said about his guys afterward: “They are tough. I believe our toughness is much better. We are mentally tough and we are getting physically tough.”
- Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrookhave now had big games on consecutive nights. They may be building momentum as postseason play nears.
- The third quarter turned the tide in this one. After trailing by six at the half, the Thunder came out and outscored the Kings 36-26 in the period. OKC held Sacramento to 6-for-26 shooting (23.1 percent) while making 13 of 19 (68.4 percent) of its shots. That frame sparked a 7-1 run to start the fourth, helping the Thunder open a 10-point lead.
- Serge Ibaka was the difference-maker in the third. He had 12 points and three blocks in the period. His interior defensive intensity helped the Thunder snap out of a first half in which it allowed Sacramento to shoot 53.7 percent from the floor. With Ibaka going nuts down low, the Kings went 1-for-12 from the paint.
Thunder Makes Its Statement Against Miami Heat
Nuggets from my notebook from Wednesday’s 96-85 win at Miami.
- Kevin Durant said his team wanted to make a statement against the Heat. And that they did This was by far the best win the Thunder has had this season. The Thunder went into Miami on the tail end of a three-game road trip and manhandled a team that had been easily handling its last few opponents. And the Thunder did it with defense, the exact style the team wants to pride itself on. This was the most complete game against a quality opponent.
- The Thunder needed this win in more ways than one. OKC came into tonight just 4-11 against the league’s top seven teams: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, the Lakers, Miami, Orlando and San Antonio. Two of those wins (Boston and Chicago) came prior to the New Year. With 15 games remaining, and a relatively soft schedule on the horizon, this win could end up being the ultimate confidence-builder.
- The Thunder is now 8-3 since its two deadline deals. That’s very impressive. It really doesn’t matter who the wins have come against. But, for the little that it is worth, four of the victories are against Phoenix, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Miami. All worthy opponents.
- The team defense was the best I’ve ever seen it. Miami had to take contested shots. The Thunder closed out on shooters and ran them off the 3-point line. Only a few uncontested layups were allowed, most of them coming in the opening minute and in the final four minutes of the second quarter. And OKC kept Miami off the glass and limited their second chances.
- The Thunder held Miami’s duo of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to 40 points on 15-for-42 shooting. As Thunder coach Scott Brooks said, “That’s not easy to do.” James and Wade came into tonight’s game as the league’s highest scoring duo at 51.7 points per game.
- Even though the Thunder shot 39.8 percent, I didn’t think the offense was terrible. The ball was moving fairly well tonight (five players got at least two assists). The Thunder just missed a good amount of open shots.
- I hope everyone can appreciate the growth Durant is undergoing right before our eyes. Two years ago, he would have gone 6-21 against a team like the Heat. And he probably wouldn’t have done anything on the glass or to make his teammates better. But tonight, he took another step on his journey to stardom. His final line: 29 points on 12-for-21 shooting with seven rebounds, six assists, one steal, one block and only one turnover. Not shown is his phenomenal defense on LeBron. Two years ago, James would have had Durant’s stat line from tonight. And it would have come in three quarters because he probably wouldn’t have needed to play the fourth. The gap is closing and before we know it, Durant just might be the league’s best player.
Thunder 124, Wizards 117
Nuggets from my notebook from Friday’s win over Washington.
- There might not be such a thing as a bad win. But this one sure as heck wasn’t a good one.
- The Thunder’s defense is gone. The team can never admit that, and they certainly can’t change gears now. But maybe it’s time fans forget about it returning this season.
- The Wizards scored 29 points in the opening period, shot 52 percent and didn’t have a single turnover.
- Here are the two most telling things about the Thunder’s defense tonight. The Thunder didn’t register a steal through three quarters. Not one! OKC finished with three, one more than its season low, and didn’t get its first until Nick Collison collected a deflection with 10:49 left in the fourth. The second thing. The Wizards had just eight turnovers. Washington came in as the third worst team taking care of the ball, giving it away 16 times a game.
- The Wizards had 19 more shot attempts than the Thunder. The offensive rebounding was the same, at 13 apiece. But the Thunder’s 16 turnovers gave the Wizards more opportunities.
- But, hey, the Thunder is 30-16. The team is 17-5 in games decided by six points or less and 5-0 in overtime. I’m sure there are some that say I’m being too critical. But at this point, whether the Thunder is winning or not, the performances are unacceptable.
- Maybe it would be better if the Thunder wasn’t winning. I’ve got a funny feeling that the mounting wins are creating a big ol’ pot of fool’s gold. For the coaches and the players. The close wins could be creating an entirely different set of false confidence. After winning in this fashion for the better part of 46 games, it’s not out of the question to think that maybe this young team believes it can win like this on any given night. Or worse, in the playoffs. But again, the Thunder is 17-5 in close games, right? So maybe I’m wrong.
New Russell Westbrook Commercial
I love, love, love this commercial.
Russell Westbrook does a terrific job for one. But what makes this spot work so well is the indelible connection that is made between the Thunder and the state of Oklahoma.
Over the past 2 1/2 seasons, we’ve experienced all sorts of surreal things that have made us shake our heads in disbelief that an NBA team is actually here to stay: team chairman Clay Bennett climbing atop a stage and uttering the words, ‘We made it,’ opening night, Kevin Durant’s scoring feats, coaching changes, Carmelo Anthony’s game-winners and the playoffs to name a few.
But Westbrook’s mentions of towns throughout Oklahoma, Blackwell to Bartlesville, Kingfisher to Kingston, is yet another slice of reinforcement that the NBA is planting roots right here in our backyard. If you’re an Oklahoma native, or even a transplant who’s fallen head over heels for this place, you can’t watch this commercial without feeling a special sense of pride at how Westbrook symbolizes how far this state has come.
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